


Regression

by Maraudingmel



Category: Original Work
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-01
Updated: 2020-08-30
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:01:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24481681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maraudingmel/pseuds/Maraudingmel





	1. Chapter 1

Katrina was having an understandably difficult time falling asleep. It wasn't that she was uncomfortable, in fact this bed was one of the softest she had ever laid on. It rivaled even Gailan's, as difficult to believe as that was. No, tonight her thoughts were the burden keeping her awake. They flowed around her head like water, splashing in waves that buckled against the sides of her head, rushing in her ears. A familiar fog had descended as well, one she had not experienced in many years. Her thoughts where tangled and slippery, and focusing on just one was impossible. 

She was afraid to close her eyes. She was far too comfortable, far too at ease. If she sunk into the bed next to this large, indiscernible woman, she would be letting her guard down. She might roll the wrong way, accidentally kick out in her sleep, or drool on the shoulder of the dignitary. She might be asked to do something but be too deep asleep to hear it, or mess something up while she was still coming out of the fog of sleep. No, sleep was dangerous. It was important, yes. But dangerous.

After making the conscious decision to lean fully back into her slave background, Katrina found everything she was doing to be much easier. Like slipping into an old outfit or eating a comfort meal, this state of mind welcomed her with a disturbing amount of ease. She could tell she was a different person. Her vision was sharp, but somehow blurred at the edges. The unimportant parts, her companions, the other slaves, dimmed. The dignitaries, her master, they all seemed to glow. It was as if her senses were made for this.

Katrina squeezed her eyes shut. "You were not made for this," she thought. "You are more than this." But the thoughts were drowned in the waves, and grew smaller and smaller.

She allowed herself to sink further into the bed, set her well-trained mental clock to wake her up at exactly 6 hours of rest. She closed her eyes, exhausted of fighting her own mind, and finally fully drifted back into her old self.


	2. Saved

It had been three months since she had chosen to remain in the plane of water. The first few weeks were difficult. Lady Zadhi was understandably upset at losing four slaves, especially ones she had spent so much money on. While Katrina was still the most valuable of the group, it was a setback. Katrina spent a few nights in the wet, flooded jail cells. She was fed, but that was the only thing provided for her.

After that, though, Lady Zadhi seemed to have forgiven her. Katrina wasn't allowed out of her sight anymore for a long while. Even when Zadhi went to nap during the day, Katrina was made to lay down with her, with a large arm wrapped around her both protectively and as a warning. 

It wasn't all bad, though. She got back into the routine she had fallen into before. She missed her friends, and wondered why Tetsi hadn't tried to get in touch. Not having that comfort of known friends around her was more isolating than Katrina had expected, and she found herself falling even faster back into her old thought processes. Still though, at night she thought of Gailan, the monastery, of Yuriel and Tetsi, and of Celestian. She used her imagination as best she could to project stars onto the palace ceiling, counting over and over again the constellations she knew by heart. It was smothering, not to have the stars to depend on anymore.

One morning, she woke up to a strange sound coming from the library. She was again pinned under Zadhi's arm, who was still fast asleep, so she didn't think much about it. She contemplated waking Zadhi to investigate the sound, but thought better of it. Perhaps she had been dreaming, or a pile of books had fallen over. She fell back asleep quickly and awoke when Zadhi did in the late morning, quickly rising to begin their morning routine. Katrina went about her day mindlessly, following any commands and requests that were made of her. She had just been asked to go retrieve a book from Zadhi's library. Lady Zadhi gave her a stern look, as if to remind Katrina not to try anything. She nodded, eyes averted, and scurried to the library.

She pushed open the door and immediately began searching for the title in question. Yuriel had done an excellent job organizing the room, so it was easy to find. She grabbed the book, turned on her heel, and stifled a gasp. Standing there behind her, eyes wide and arms outstretched, was the fire Genasi himself. He looked as though he had been walking towards her and stopped when she turned, his eyes darting around as if he were deciding what to do next. Katrina couldn't help herself; she rushed towards him and threw her arms around him, the book tossed carelessly to the ground. Yes, she liked Lady Zadhi, and yes she enjoyed her time here, but he was her friend, and did everything he could to save her even when she fought against him. Seeing him, although it was confusing, was thrilling. 

Yuriel's arms automatically wrapped around her in turn, and she heard him mutter something under his breath. Before she could pull back to ask what he had said, she felt her feet leave solid ground, and a strange wind whistled in her ears. She clutched onto Yuriel tightly, her stomach lurching unpleasantly. Fortunately, it was over as quickly as it had started. Katrina felt her feet hit ground again and stumbled backwards, falling onto her side. Her vision was blurry and she rubbed her eyes quickly, but the sound of the ocean was unmistakable. A hand took hers and pull her to her feet as she finally looked around. She was standing on a cliff overlooking the ocean. It was dark out, and the stars were covering the night sky. She looked around and saw, below, the city of Saltmarsh bustling with night-life. Dockworkers were yelling and laughing loudly, and she even spotted their ship docked further away.

She spun to face Yuriel, unable to do anything but stare at him. She didn't know how she felt. She was confused. Zadhi she would be upset. She needed Katrina. And, didn't Katrina need her? Wasn't that her purpose now? But she had had a purpose before that. She had had friends, and a ship, and she was doing good things. Katrina rubbed at her temples, hands shaking, feeling unsteady on her feet and her stomach turning. Yuriel didn't say anything, as if he understood how she was feeling. He took her arm, pulled it over his shoulder and helped her start walking down the cliff. He brought her back to her monastery and gently sat her down onto her bed. She heard him explaining to the group of Celestian followers what had happened, and he returned with some food and drink. He set it down next to her bed, and then crawled into the bed directly across from hers. Katrina was asleep in seconds.

Yuriel stayed with her for the next week. Katrina spent the first few days in a bit of a trance-state. She slept a lot, and had nightmares of Zadhi coming to Saltmarsh and wreaking havoc to punish Katrina for leaving. She always woke thrashing under her covers, but with a cold towel pressed into her forehead. She could hardly keep any food down, and was unable to speak when anyone asked even the simplest of questions. The next few days were a bit better. She was able to stand and walk around the monastery, greeting her companions and listening to the stories they told of the adventures they had at a hermitage. She met a very nice gnome named Agnes, who cooked her homemade food every night. After the first week passed, Katrina mustered up the courage to leave the monastery and walk around town. It was loud, and busy, and comforting. She was starting to feel her old self return, bit by bit. It would take a while. 

Yuriel didn't leave her side. They spent several nights in the local taverns, drinking together and telling stories and secrets. Tetsi joined them sometimes, and the three of them always stumbled back to the ship together to collapse on their respective beds. Eventually Katrina worked up the courage to stop by Gailan's house, although it took a lot of alcohol. He had been surprised and delighted to see her standing on his doorstep. They had a night of dinner and wine, and Katrina told him that her time as a slave... again... made it very hard for her to be able to continue to see a man like him. She did it as gently as she could, and ended the night with an ultimatum: if he was willing to give up being in the slave trade, he was welcome to reach back out to her. Gailan had been taken by surprise, but nodded thoughtfully. She excused herself quickly after, and found Yuriel and Tetsi at the bar to end the night. She had received a letter from him several weeks later inviting her for dinner, which she took to be a good sign. The next step was to see if he could truly change his ways, but she wasn't too bothered. Nothing seemed like too big of a problem anymore.

She spent more and more nights sleeping on the ship deck, soaking up as much of the stars as she could. She had been separated from them for far too long.


End file.
